Cookout Cookies are perfect for summer

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I will always love themed treats, and I’ve made some pretty fun ones in the past for the Indy 500 / Memorial Day weekend. This year is no exception! I wanted to celebrate the official start of grilling season by making cute little grills.

There are multiple steps to this, but nothing is too tricky, so stay with me! I started by making the easiest, tastiest chocolate cookies. It’s the same base recipe I use for my hot cocoa cookies. They’re soft, thick, and very chocolatey.

Then I made a batch of classic buttercream with red food coloring. This will act as the flames in the grill.

The third step is the trickiest: I made a picture of a grill grate using the paint program, and I printed it out, making sure it was the same size as the cookies. I then set a piece of wax paper on top and used melted chocolate to draw the design on the wax paper. It will harden after just a few minutes. That’s when you peel it off the wax paper and stick it on top of the frosted cookies.

The last step is the most fun! Use your favorite candies to create shish kebabs to lay on top of the grill.

If I’m being honest, this is not a quick recipe. But sometimes it’s just fun to spend time in the kitchen, and the final result is totally worth it!

Cookout Cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 1 (15.25 ounce) box of milk chocolate cake mix
• 8 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 4 ounces Challenge cream cheese, softened

For the buttercream frosting

• 1 cup Challenge butter, softened
• 4 – 5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Red food coloring

For the grill grates

• Melted chocolate

For the shish kebabs

• Gummy bears, Mike & Ike’s, Hot Tamales, etc. cut into small pieces

Directions

For the cookies

1. In a large bowl, combine dry cake mix, melted butter, and egg.
2. Add cream cheese and beat until completely incorporated.
3. Stir in chocolate morsels.
4. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes so it’s easier to shape into a ball.
5. Once dough has been chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Form dough into 1-inch balls, place on baking sheet, and bake for 8 minutes.
7. Allow to cool before frosting.

For the buttercream

1. Beat the butter on medium speed until smooth–about 2 minutes.
2. Add heavy cream, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar. Beat on low speed until combined, and then increase mixer to high speed for about 3 minutes.
3. If frosting isn’t thick enough, add 1/2 cup more powdered sugar. If frosting is too thick, add more heavy cream.
4. Frost cookies. I always prefer to use a piping bag, but you can just spread it on if you prefer.

For the grill grate

1. Print out picture of grill grate, and cut piece of wax paper to lay on top of it.
2. Melt chocolate and add to Ziploc bag. Cut one corner and trace grate design on wax paper.
3. Let harden and place on frosted cookies.

For the shish kebabs

1. Place small candy pieces on toothpick and place on top of grill grates.

Checkered Flag Racing Cupcakes

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I have always wondered how people made dual-flavored swirled frosting, and now that I know, I've been sharing the info with everyone! You can use any two flavors of frosting for your swirls, but since we're just a few days out from the Indianapolis 500, I wanted to use the technique to make checkered flag racing cupcakes.

I started by making a basic vanilla buttercream frosting. I then took half of that frosting and made it chocolate buttercream just by adding cocoa powder and a little more heavy cream.

I then laid out a sheet of plastic wrap and used a spatula to spread the two frostings side by side. I folded one side over the other and stuck the whole thing into a pastry bag fitted with a 1M swirl piping tip. And that's it! To achieve the iconic swirl look, hold your piping bag upright and over the center of the cupcake. Apply pressure and begin circling the outside edge. Continue squeezing and add another layer of frosting working toward the center. Finish the spiral in the very center just by releasing pressure and lifting up!

You can use this frosting technique on any flavor of cupcake or with any flavors of frosting. In fact, you can even use more than two frosting flavors! I recommend piping the frosting onto a plate first though to make sure the flavors are coming out evenly before you put it on a cupcake.



Checkered Flag Racing Cupcakes
Yield: Makes about 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the vanilla cupcakes

• 1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (200 grams)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar (198 grams)
• 1/2 cup unsalted Challenge butter, melted
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup yogurt (57 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites

For the swirl frosting

• 1 cup unsalted Challenge butter, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar (454 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (42 grams)

Directions
For the vanilla cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl and set aside.
3. Mix sugar and melted butter in large bowl. Whisk in milk, yogurt, and vanilla extract making sure the butter is not to hot beforehand otherwise the dairy will curdle.
4. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix just until no lumps remain.
5. Beat egg whites using whisk or mixer until frothy (about 1 minute of fast whisking by hand or 30 seconds with mixer).
6. Add egg whites to mixture and slowly mix in.
7. Divide batter amongst 12 cupcake liners and bake for about 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool.

For the swirl frosting

1. In large bowl, beat butter at medium speed until smooth.
2. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream. Beat at low speed until combined, and then beat at high speed for an additional minute.
3. Scrape away half of vanilla frosting and set aside.
4. Add remaining 2 Tablespoons heavy cream and cocoa powder to bowl and beat until combined.
5. Lay sheet of plastic wrap about a foot long onto work surface.
6. Use spatula to spread chocolate frosting into 3-inch strip in center of plastic wrap. Spread vanilla frosting in 3-inch strip alongside chocolate frosting being careful not to mix the two.
7. Fold chocolate frosting over vanilla frosting and place into piping bag fitted with 1M swirl piping tip.
8. Pipe onto cupcakes and serve.

Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction and Delish

Checkered Flag Brownies

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

This year will be my second time attending the Indy 500 with FOX59 and CBS4. Personally, I'm not a big racing fan, but the Indy 500 really is something special! I love all of the traditions, and the American pride, and the feeling and sounds when the cars start their engines.

This year is the 100th running of the race, so it's extra special! And it also happens to be my aunt's 50th birthday, so my family from Arizona is visiting for the big race -- so many exciting things! That being said, I wanted to make an extra special treat to celebrate the occasion! (In case you were wondering, "special" is clearly the word of the day because evidently I can't think of another adjective.)

After thinking about it for a long time, I decided on these checkered flag brownies. It took me a little while to figure out how to make the checkered design, but once I figured it out I think it turned out really well!

Also, as you'll see below there is a chocolate frosting on the brownies. The frosting serves two purposes: 1) The frosting gives you a smooth surface for the checkered flag design and it makes the design look sharper. 2) It takes the brownies from being just "good" to "WOW!" Seriously the frosting is sooo good! And it's simple to make too. Just start with Challenge butter, add a little milk and cocoa powder, and once that's combined stir in the powdered sugar! it smells and tastes just like fudge.

Checkered Flag Brownies

Ingredients
For the brownies

• 2 boxes brownie mix (I ususally use Ghirardelli Double Chocolate)
• 3/4 cup Challenge butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

For the frosting

• 1/3 cup Challenge butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x13 metal baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray.
2. Put the brownie mix, melted  butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Spread brownie batter in prepared pan evenly and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes. I like my brownies softer so my baking time was closer to 30 minutes, but I know some people like brownies with crispy edges.
3. While brownies are cooling, prepare frosting. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Once the butter is melted, add the milk and the unsweetened cocoa powder, and stir until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar. Pour over brownies. Make sure to spread quickly before it sets.
4. Let brownies cool to room temperature for about 30 minutes. You must make sure frosting has completely hardened before the next step!
5. Cut paper into 1-inch squares, and lay the squares on brownies in a checkered flag design.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
7. Lift pieces of paper up, and it will look like a checkered flag!

Recipe adapted from the Cake Mix Doctor.